1085607:right]England's Nick Job carded a spectacular seven under par 65 to catapult himself into a share of the lead with Scotland's Bill Longmuir after the second round of the De Vere PGA Seniors Championship at De Vere Carden Park in Cheshire.

The Englishman’s round included seven birdies and a sensational hole-in-one on 153 yard par-three ninth hole where he spun an 8-iron back into the hole. It was his first competitive ace and also won him a total of 180 bottles of Hardys wine under a special sponsorship agreement with the Australian wine company.

"That's the first time I have ever had a hole-in-one in a competitive round," admitted the experienced Job, who has won twice on the Seniors Tour, at 2000 TotalFina Elf Seniors Open and the 2001 Lawrence Batley . "It was a lovely shot. It covered the flag the whole way, landed about a yard past the flag and then spun back into the hole.

"Let's hope I got even more to celebrate by the end of the weekend," he added. "Then we really could have a party."

Longmuir added a 67 to his opening 68 and now has a great chance to close in on England’s Carl Mason at the top of the European Seniors Tour’s Order of Merit.

The Scot started his round with a birdie on the 487 yard par five first hole and also fired four consecutive birdies from the seventh before missing several more chances coming home..

"I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed," said Longmuir at the end of his round. "I got off to a great start with five birdies over my first ten holes but then missed a few chances after that. Sixty seven is a good score but it probably should have been a little bit better than that."

Job and Longmuir go into the third round one shot ahead of England’s Denis O’Sullivan, America’s Dick McClean and Ireland’s Denis O’Sullivan. Argentina’s Horacio Carbonetti, Trinidad and Tobago’s Alan Mew and England’s Ian Mosey all share sixth place on seven under par 136.

Mew went out in the first group at 7.00 am and looked to be going nowhere when he dropped three shots over his opening six holes. However, he replied with birdies at the eighth, tenth, 14th, 15th , 16th and 17th to register a 69 that gives him a great chance to earn the biggest cheque of his career.

“I think I was still half asleep when we started out this morning,” said the man who turned professional after earning at Tour Card at last year’s Seniors Tour Qualifying School in Portugal. “I am staying at my brother’s house in Birkenhead so we had to get up at 4.30 am in order to get here. It’s not the ideal preparation but fortunately I was able to turn things round.

Job was not the only competitor to produce a spectacular performance on a day in which the sun shone and the wind never got above 10 miles and hour.

America's Dick McClean opened with a level par 72 but stormed into a share of third place after a spectacular 64 that saw him finish the second round on eight under par 136.

McClean, a tournament promoter from Southern California, only got into the championship after surviving a sudden-death play-off after Monday's Qualifying competition. However, he now has a great chance of collecting the £33,330 first prize after a spectacular round that included eight birdies and no dropped shots.

The American went out in five under par 31 after birdies on the second, third, fifth, seven and eighth and then came home in 33 after further birdies at the tenth, 14th and 18th.

"I don't think I can explain why my golf was so much better than it was at the start of the week," said McClean, who used to run the $1 million Kapalua tournament in Hawaii and the Hyundai Team Matches on the US LPGA Tour. "I guess it has to be down to the weather. It must have made me feel at home."

Durnian also produced his own wonder shot while carding a 66 that saw him draw level with McLean and O'Sullivan on 136. That came at the 373 yard par four seventh hole when he hit a 110-yard wedge shot straight into the hole for an eagle three. He also birdied the first, the fifth, the sixth and the 15th to go into the weekend in good shape to win his fourth Seniors Tour title.

O'Sullivan led the tournament after an opening 65 but was frustrated by his putter during a second round 71 in which he bogeyed the ninth to go out in 37 but then repaired some of the damage with birdies at the 12th, 14th and 16th.

"It was one of those days when I just couldn't get the ball to drop into the hole," said the Irishman. "I kept leaving them short. I will have to be more aggressive tomorrow."

The cut fell at level par 144. Defending champion, Japan's Seiji Ebihara, made it to the weekend after rounds of 71 and 72 but Russell Weir (72-73), Jim Rhodes (72-73), Ian Stanley (70-76) and Eddie Polland were among those who missed out.